All Around the Town
by Ashe Flight
Summary: Inoue Orihime was kidnapped as a child and was held captive for two years. Now a young woman, she develops Multiple Personality Disorder. Can Dr. Kurosaki Ichigo unlock her lost years before she loses herself completely?
1. Prologue

**All Around the Town**

Disclaimer: I do not own the All Around the Town, it was written by the great Mary Higgins Clark and Bleach is not mine either, it's Tite Kubo's work. I simply made use of Bleach characters to tell Mary Higgins Clark's incredible story. So I hope you'll enjoy it.

**Prologue**

It was 10 o'clock in the morning; five-year-old Inoue Orihime was sitting on the floor of her room, coloring her latest drawing of little blue men. Little Orihime was bored and wanted to play in the park, the problem was, no one would accompany her. From her room, she could hear her brother's voice talking intently to the person on the other side of the line.

Orihime sighed, locks of auburn hair falling to her face. She stood up and walked over to her sister's full body mirror. She fixed the little pink cardigan she had on and brushed her hair gingerly. She was often teased by her classmates in kindergarten for having such unnatural hair color but she didn't mind, her siblings would always tell her that she had beautiful hair and that made her confident about herself. She made her way to her brother and tugged at his arm,

"Onii-chan, I'm ready"

Her brother looked down and smiled "In a minute, Hime," he said "just let me finish talking to Mr. Kurotsuchi"

Sora, was Orihime's big brother, he was approximately 15 years older than she and has taken care of her and Rangiku ever since they ran away from their abusive parents. Sora loved his sisters very much, that's why, the time he turned 18, he got his sisters and walked out of that living hell they used to call home. He was a hardworking person; he was a student and guardian by day and a bartender by night. For 2 years, Sora was the person providing for them and standing not only as a brother but also as a father figure to both of them. Today, he was sealing a deal with a loaner, he was about to give his sisters the house that they deserved.

Orihime walked over to the window. A long car slowly passing their house, behind it was an open car filled with flowers, and a lot more cars with their lights on. Whenever Orihime saw cars like that, she would immediately think it was a parade but Rangiku said no, it was a funeral. Nevertheless, Orihime thought of it as a parade and she loved to run down the driveway and wave at the people in the car. Sometimes they waved back.

Orihime looked back at her brother. Still on the phone. Then she glanced back at the "_parade"_, she watched as the cars continued to go by. She was going to ask her brother if he could come and watch the "_parade" _with her but from the way he was talking to Mr. Kurotsuchi, their conversation was far from over.

So she grabbed the music box that Sora and Rangiku gave her for Christmas and noiselessly open the screen door, hurried across the porch and ran down the driveway. Her angelic face lit up as a few more cars passed their house. She waved.

She put the music box in the ground and stooped, she wound up the music box and heard the tinkling sound of a piano and voices singing

"_Eastside, Westside . . ."_

"Little girl"

Orihime didn't notice the car pull over and stop in front of her. Her gray eyes shot up to the man before her, he was very pale and had jade eyes that seem to hold no emotion or whatsoever, he had streaks of green tattoos running from his eyes down to his cheeks that seemed like tears; _"a sad clown" _Orihime thought.

There was a man in the driver's seat; he was a huge man with a necklace that seemed like a collar with bones stuck to it. At the back was a man with silver hair, a grin plastered on his face. In one swift motion, the man with green eyes picked Orihime up, and before she knew it she was seated next to the man with silver hair at the back seat as the car sped off. Orihime clutched the music box as it continued to sing

"_All around the town . . . Boys and girls together . . ."_

"W-Where are we going?" she asked in a small and quivering voice, she felt hot tears in her eyes.

She remembered that she wasn't allowed to go out alone. Onii-chan would surely be mad.

The man beside her grinned even more,

"All around the town, lil' girl. All around the town"

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.

Rangiku hurried along the road, carrying a piece of cake wrapped in foil on a paper plate in one hand and a paper bag of bean paste and wasabi on the other. Orihime loved cake and loved it even better with wasabi and bean paste, Rangiku wanted to make it up to her for not playing with her that day.

Rangiku was a beautiful young lady; she had silky, long strawberry blonde hair and a smile that could make any guy crazy for her. At the age of 16, Rangiku had a well developed body, which worried Sora even more. But Rangiku knew she could protect herself, she was frank and was a member of the school's kendo club; she had wits and guts and the only person who would dare mess with her would be mentally retarded.

She clearly thought that Sora should worry more about the youngest Inoue. Orihime was probably the kindest and most trusting person to ever walk the planet. A child so selfless that at the age of 5, she knew that she couldn't have the toys that her classmates had, that as of the moment she could only wear her sister's hand me downs and not once did they hear her complain.

Rangiku smirked, Orihime was totally different from her, heck, the three of them were so different from each other that you wouldn't think they were siblings. Sora had brown hair; Rangiku had strawberry blonde hair while Orihime had auburn hair. Sora had a warm and kind personality; Rangiku was spunky and outspoken while Orihime was sweet and bubbly, gentle and understanding. Orihime was every parent's dream child. Rangiku just couldn't comprehend why their parents saw her as a burden when in fact Orihime was a miracle, for no one knew how such an angelic child would be born from two cruel people.

When Orihime was born, Rangiku made a bargain with God. That if God kept Orihime safe all the time, she'd lessen her partying and start spending more time with her little sister, and so far God was listening to her.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a lad clad in his karate uniform holding onto his mother tightly and enthusiastically conversing with her. Unconsciously, a smile tugged at her lips, she loved teasing her little sister about her little crush on that seven-year-old little boy who lived two blocks away from them. She glanced back at the little boy, and then focused on the driveway towards their house. Suddenly, she stopped at her tracks, her crystalline blue eyes widened.

Two police cars were in her driveway, their lights flashing. A lot of neighbors clustered outside, even the boy she just saw two seconds ago were there. They looked all looked scared and sad, holding their kids tightly by the hand.

Rangiku began to run. What had happened while she was gone?

Kira Isuzuru was there, he was in her class in Karakura High. She asked him why everyone was there.

He looked very sorry for her, _"Orihime-chan is missing" _he told her, _"Ukitake-san had seen three men took her into a care, but hadn't realized Orihime-chan was being kidnapped" _

Those words kept on repeating in her head, slowly her vision became blurry. Tears began to cascade down her face.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

They wouldn't take her home.

They drove a long time and took her through the woods and into a huge ranch in the middle. Throughout the trip, she found out that the man who kidnapped her was named Ulquiorra, the big man behind the wheels was Yami and that the man who was grinning manically at her was

_"Gin" _

At one point in the journey, Orihime couldn't fight it back anymore and burst into tears and told them that she wanted to go home. She ended up being slapped by the huge hand of Yami.

"Aww, Yami. You didn't have to hurt the poor babe" Gin said as he caressed Orihime's arm, making chills run down her spine

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

They brought her to a huge ranch they called, _Hueco Mundo_. They ordered her to keep her head down so that no one would see her as they passed through the many people who worked in that ranch and if she did attempted to scream for help, they'd slit her throat. In the heart of the ranch lay the huge mansion, _Las Noches_. They presented her to the man who owned the whole ranch, Aizen Sousuke, Gin's older brother.

Aizen Sousuke was a handsome man; he had the same hair color as Sora's but his hair was shorter and wore glasses. He was a man who held confidence and power in his aura, all his servants bowed down to him and yet he still had that gentle smile that could woo anybody. But Orihime shivered whenever he smiled at her, for in his eyes were some sort of sinister that she could not describe in words.

In that mansion she was locked up in a room that was blandly white. She was asked not to leave the room and if she did, she'd get a severe punishment. There were only a few people who knew she was there, one of those people was Sousuke and Gin's youngest brother, Grimmjow. Grimmjow would probably be eight years older than her, he had strange cerulean hair and striking blue eyes that were so intense they scared Orihime. Often if not always, Grimmjow would give her a spine chilling grin whenever he'd pass by her or whenever he'd drop by her room to taunt her.

They called her Shirou

Sometimes when they'd let her sleep alone, she'd think of other people. _Onii-chan, Ran nee-chan and Kuro-kun._ But then she's start crying and they'd hit her again, so she made herself forget Onii-chan and Ran nee-chan and Kuro-kun.

_"That's good",_ a voice in her head told her.

_"Forget about all of them"_

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Author's note:

I modified the story a bit so that the Bleach characters would fit in but of course the story still belongs to Miss Mary Higgins Clark.

Thanks so much to **nypsy **for the advice ^-^ I made the prologue a little longer and changed the rating and updated . . . so I'm hoping for more reviews and I do hope you enjoy the story

~Ember (n.n)


	2. Just a Dream

**Chapter 1: **

**Just a Dream**

It has been two years since Orihime was brought to the hell called, Hueco Mundo. The leaves had begun to fall and the winds were becoming chilly.

"I have brought you clothes"

Ulquiorra's monotonous voice echoed throughout her white room. He left the clothes at the edge of her bed "change now, before you freeze to death" he ordered.

But Orihime continued to stare outside her barred window.

"I'm taking to you, girl" he said, raising his tone

Finally, Orihime averted her ashen gray eyes to the person who has been giving her food for the two years that she's spent in that insipid room. Her once bright gray eyes lost the glimmer they had; now her gray depths were empty, as if the soul that once resided in that frail body was no longer there.

After receiving a small nod from the auburn haired girl, Ulquiorra exited the room.

Slowly, she got up and changed her clothes. Since the day she was brought to Las Noches, Orihime never saw anyone else. Only Ulquiorra, Gin, Grimmjow and Aizen. Aizen had a lot of employees who worked in his ranch, all of them roaming around Las Noches, cleaning and serving the three brothers but never did she cry for help or even dared to catch there attention because if she did they'd kill her family, a voice in her head shouted not to.

"_Don't you dare! Do you want to get punished again?"_

No, she didn't want to get hurt anymore. She was afraid of them, all of them

Orihime was exceptionally afraid of Aizen Sousuke. He was a man who looked so decent and kind that any person wouldn't believe her if she said that behind that façade was a man so sinister he was inhumane.

"_Monster!" a voice in her head spat_

She hated Sousuke with every fiber in her small body.

Every night since the day they brought her to him, he would have Ulquiorra bring her to his study. He would pick her up and put her on his lap.

"Shirou" he would say in his deep baritone voice.

He kept hugging her and caressing her, making Orihime tremble in disgust.

"Who do you belong to, Shirou?" he'd ask her

"T-To you, S-Sousuke-sama" she'd answer weakly. This was the response she was taught to reply to this certain question

"Good girl" he smiled, that dark, dark smile that chilled Orihime to the bone. Then he'd take her upstairs and hurt her. She'd ask him to stop but he'd only hurt her even more. Sometimes Gin would call for her in the middle of the night too.

One time Sousuke allowed her to go out into the barn. Gin gave her a new born chick to keep as her pet.

"Thank you, Gin-sama" she said meekly

"Ya welcome, Shirou-chan" Gin smiled slyly

Orihime loved the chick dearly; it was her constant companion, her only friend. Sometimes they'd allow her to keep it with her even inside her room.

Until one day, Grimmjow killed it.

Grimmjow was but thirteen years old when she came to Hueco Mundo. Grimmjow was tall back then, but in a short period of time, he's grown even taller. He was now almost as big and muscular as his brothers, just as cruel and sadistic too.

The sound of clashing swords along with the sound of Gin's slang speech broke Orihime's line of thought. She also heard the sound of Nnoitora's rugged voice. They were probably fencing, and that was good because it assured Orihime that Gin won't be bothering her today. Suddenly the door burst open.

"Hey, girly!"

Orihime's eyes widened, _"Grimmjow-sama" _she gasped

Grimmjow stood tall at her door, grinning manically at the auburn haired girl before him. As if by instinct, Orihime shot up and backed away.

"N-no, please d-don't" she began to quaver. Before Grimmjow would simple bully her or hit her but a few months ago he started doing the same things his brothers would do to her night after night.

In just a few strides, he stood before her, towering over her. His grin grew wider.

Grimmjow would often be outshined by his brothers but up close he was just as handsome as the two. Grimmjow had a different kind of handsome though. Unlike his brothers he was ruggedly good-looking and spoke vulgarly, he enjoyed joining riots and was obsessed with power. She knew that these brothers were wicked but Grimmjow was a different kind of fiendish, his whole being wreaked of madness.

"Looks like I'll be your playmate while Ulquiorra kisses Sousuke's ass" he grinned even more

Orihime began to shake.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Rangiku sat with Sora watching a program about missing children. The last segment was about Orihime. They showed pictures of her taken before she was taken and a computerized image of how she might look today, two years after she'd been kidnapped.

When the program ended, Sora turned the television off. He sighed and covered his face with his hands. "I should have paid more attention to her" he began. "Now I've got the house but at the cost of my sister. I'm such an awful brother" he began to sob. Rangiku moved closer to her brother, placing a hand on his back "You shouldn't blame yourself, Sora nii. It isn't your fault" she tried to comfort her brother.

Since Orihime was taken, Sora and Rangiku haven't been getting much sleep; it was evident with the bags under their eyes. Oh how they missed their little sister, they prayed so hard that she'd be alright. Rangiku wondered if God was punishing her for choosing to go to that party instead of staying behind to play with Orihime. She promised to whatever higher power there was up there that if He brought Orihime back to them she would always, _always _take care of her.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Today was different. Orihime could tell; she could hear the hustle and bustle of the workers outside. _They're preparing for something, _she thought. Orihime turned to look at the luggage beside her, Haribel, one of the few people who knew she was there came to pack the clothes Sousuke gave her. She dressed Orihime into a decent blue dress and brushed her hair, "Wait for Aizen-sama to call for you" she told her before she left.

A few moments later, Ulquiorra came and escorted her outside where Gin and Grimmjow were waiting for her in the car. They were wearing formal clothes today. They had Orihime sit between them at the back and Ulquiorra and Stark in front.

They drove for hours. "Sousuke is already there" she heard Gin say. After some time they stopped at a huge hotel.

"Seireitei" Orihime read

She winced when Grimmjow suddenly yanked her arm, "You listen here girl" he uttered "We're going in there and there'll be a lot of people, so don't talk to anyone or even dare to catch their attention, don't even look at them. Or else I will snap that thin neck of yours. You hear?" he threatened.

Orihime nodded, fear eminent in her eyes. "y-yes G-Grimmjow-sama" she answered shakily. Satisfied with her answer he roughly shoved her away.

As if on cue, Stark opened the door. Gin stepped out first, followed by Orihime then by Grimmjow. The lobby was filled with people, Orihime was so mesmerized by the five-star hotel that she didn't notice them move forward, until Grimmjow pushed her to follow Gin.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.

Kisune Isane was the receptionist at Seireitei when Gin and Grimmjow entered with Orihime. She didn't notice anything wrong with them, aside from Gin's jargon speech and Grimmjow's scowl, nothing seemed off. They were dressed formally and simply asked for Mr. Aizen's room. That was until, Isane noticed the little auburn-haired girl. She was dressed in a baby blue dress with a darker blue satin ribbon tied neatly behind her; she was dressed expensively, just like the two men she was with. But she kept staring at her feet. At first, Isane thought that she was simply shy but when she lifted her head and fixed her large gray eyes on her, she was moved with pity.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Orihime tried hard not to look, Grimmjow said not to look but she just couldn't help but look.

Slowly and hesitantly she peered at the receptionist. She had silver hair just like Gin's and had a braid with beads on her hair at the side of her head. She looked curiously and with concern at Orihime, somehow, this triggered a tear drop from Orihime. After one drop, the tears began to flow uncontrollably.

Orihime heard Grimmjow curse sharply as she cried. Gin on the other hand was trying to calm her down.

"_Shut up now!" _a voice bellowed at her

Despite Gin's act of kindness, she knew he was angry. His eyes were now open; she knew that Gin's eyes only opened when he was mad or when he was serious. "Don't cry, Shirou" he said, his grip tightening around her arms. Without notice, he lifted her up and headed for the elevator.

Once inside the room, Gin roughly tossed Orihime on the bed. _Keep your eyes shut, _a voice warned her. _He's going to take it out on you._

The crisp sound of Gin's hand landing on Orihime's check resonated throughout the room, "I told you not to catch anyone's attention!" he roared. Gin was about to land a second blow when Sousuke interrupted.

"What's the commotion all about?"

"Shirou-"

"It's the little bitch" Grimmjow interrupted. "The twit cried in front of the receptionist" he finished, glaring at Orihime.

Sousuke scrutinized Orihime, who was now staring tearfully wide eyed at him. He was gazing darkly at her.

"Let's kill the receptionist before she-"Grimmjow was cut off

"We can't kill anyone anymore" Sousuke said firmly. Back at the ranch, a reporter realized that Sousuke had Orihime. Gin didn't hesitate to kill the reporter, the cameraman and the whole crew.

"She knows your family name; she knows which room we're in. If we kill the receptionist, we'll have to kill everyone here in the hotel. And I don't want to; there are a lot of people who can be sponsors here." Sousuke decided. He moved towards her and held her arms tightly against her.

"What's my name?" he asked

"Sousuke-sama"

"And theirs?"

"Gin-sama, Grimmjow-sama"

"I want you to forget that. I want you to forget about us, do you understand, Shirou" he said staring into her eyes as if trying to hypnotize her.

No, Orihime did not understand. _Say yes, _a voice whispered impatiently. _Nod you head and say yes._

"Yes" she said softly as she felt her head nod.

That night, they got into the car and took her to a place Sousuke knew people would find her. They stopped at a huge building; Grimmjow got Orihime out of the car and dropped her on the steps of the building. "Hey girly, remember the time I killed your little chicken?" he asked. Orihime dreaded that day, Grimmjow had cut its head off making its blood splatter all over the place, on the ground, her dress, her face, everywhere. With a mocking smirk, Grimmjow dropped the chick and stepped on it, crushing it with his weight. Everyday, she feared that the fate of that chick might be her fight as well.

"Remember?" he shook her

"Yes I remember" Orihime answered in a small voice.

"Now if you ever talk about us or the ranch. I will cut your head off and kill your brother, your sister and that little brat you always talk about in your sleep. Understand?" he warned her

"Yes" she said in between sobs.

Sousuke suddenly approached them and Grimmjow stepped aside. He knelt in front of Orihime. He put two fingers under her chin and forced her to look at him "Shirou" he said, that deep baritone voice embedding itself in her brain. Orihime shrank at his kisses and fierce embrace, his voice was warm but his eyes were icy cold. "I'll be back for you, Shirou. But for now forget everything" he ordered. He planted another kiss on her forehead then got in their car and drove off.

Orihime fell back against the door. It was dark, she hated the dark. She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep herself warm.

_Aww, look at the 'fraidy cat. _She slipped away to be part of the jeering voice that was laughing at the small figure, huddled at the entrance of the building.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Sora and Rangiku were tired, dead tired. They were about to spend another Christmas without Orihime, and they weren't sure if they were going to keep their hopes up. The house was so silent without Orihime, sure they owned the house now but it didn't feel like a home without Orihime.

The phone rang and Sora got up to answer it. Rangiku sighed, how did Orihime look right now? Did she still recognize them? Would she still be the same Orihime before she was kidnapped? Did those bastards who took her hurt her? Rangiku balled her fists at the thought. "I swear I will kill them if they touched Orihime" she swore. She stood up and assessed herself in the mirror. Would Orihime recognize her? She was eighteen now and had grown so much.

She looked up at Sora, who just put the phone down. He looked pale, too pale.

"Orihime" he said softly

"What? What about her?" Rangiku asked anxiously

"They- They found her" tears began to form in his eyes.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Sora and Rangiku immediately flew to Tokyo. Orihime had been taken to a hospital there.

Rangiku's heart broke as she watched Orihime, who was now in the arms of Sora. Her auburn hair was no longer as shiny and she remembered; she was taller now and thinner. But it was more than that. Orihime had always been a bright and cheerful child but now even though she kept her head down, her eyes would always be darting around as if she were looking for something she terribly afraid of.

The reporters began to cluster around them as they left the hospital. "The doctors assessed Orihime, she is in good health, although she is a little bit underweight" Sora stated.

"Has she talked about her abductors?"

"No, she hasn't talked at all. Please we appreciate your concern but you must allow her to rest" Sora begged. But they just wouldn't stop.

"Were there any since of her being molested?"

Rangiku's blood began to boil. How dare you! She wanted to smack those glasses of the reporter's face. Rangiku was about to lunge forward but Sora restrained him. She turned to her brother, he was seething. Sora rarely got mad, but today, he's eyes were dark, he looked appalled. He glared at the reporter, and then he held onto Orihime protectively. Using, his shoulder, he pushed everyone in his way.

The media had followed her home. Rangiku dropped onto her knees and stretch out her arms to her, "Orihime" she said tenderly. But Orihime flinched and tried to cover herself. "She's afraid I'll hit her" she thought. Rangiku picked Orihime up nonetheless, and brought her inside while Sora tried to send the media away.

Rangiku sighed; she was going to take care of Orihime, always. She ran up to Orihime's room, fixed her clothes, her bed and put her only bear, Enraku on the bed. She arranged Orihime's crayons and prepared a stack of papers on her small desk; she made her favorite food and prepared her milk.

Everything was alien to Orihime. She didn't speak, not even a sound; she only sat at the couch where Rangiku had put her down. At dinner, Orihime ate silently, careful not to make a sound. Whenever they'd try to touch her, she'd flinch. It broke their hearts to pieces. Rangiku could see the hurt in Sora's eyes. "Hime" he wanted to say, but Rangiku stopped him. "Let her be, Sora nii"

At seven o'clock, they sat in the living room, Sora had turned the television on, and Orihime trembled when they asked her to sit with them. Orihime sat cross-legged at a corner of the room. "Pretend she's not here" Rangiku told her brother. By nine o'clock, Rangiku had offered Orihime a warm bath then to bed, Orihime quivered.

"She's afraid of us" Sora said in a hurt voice

"No, she's afraid to go to bed" Rangiku said, observing Orihime carefully.

At half past ten, they found Orihime sprawled on the floor, asleep. Sora carried her to her bed and let Rangiku change their sister's clothes. The two of them stayed in her room for hours, watching their darling little sister sleep.

Orihime slept long and late. Rangiku gazed at her little sister, "I will _always _take care of her" she repeated her promise, over and over again.

Rangiku helped Sora prepare Orihime's favorite breakfast and waited for Orihime to awaken. A few minutes later, Orihime pattered into the kitchen, Enraku trailing behind her.

Rangiku wasn't sure of what Orihime was going to do when she stopped in front of her. Suddenly Orihime stretched her arms up to Rangiku, just like she'd do when she was four. Rangiku picked her up and placed her on her lap.

"Ran nee-chan" Orihime mumbled as she rubbed sleep off her eyes

"Yesterday I wanted to go to the park but Onii-chan kept talking to Mr. Kurotsuchi"

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.

Author's note:

So, what do you think? This is my first fanfic so opinions and advices are welcome.

Reviews are very much appreciated.

I'll update as soon as i can

~Ember


	3. A Sister's Perception

**Chapter 2:**

**A Sister's Perception **

Twelve years later . . .

Rangiku couldn't help but glance at Orihime.

Orihime was so entranced by the casket in front of them. She was staring at it, remnants of her outburst still apparent in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Onii-chan. I won't go out alone again, I promise, I promise" she whispered, her voice young and innocent.

"Hime" Rangiku called Orihime. Orihime turned to her briefly then resumed staring at the casket. They began to move the casket; Rangiku had to put a hand under her elbow just to lead her to follow the casket. Orihime moved along with her sister, "So many people" she mumbled. She kept looking around like a child lost in sea of people.

"_Shirou_"

Orihime stopped. That voice, she knew that voice.

She heard the sound of swords clashing.

A blur of blue

"_Who do you belong to, Shirou?"_

Orihime began to tremble as icy terror ran through her body. "No! No!" Orihime shrieked, then everything went black.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.

A lot of people attended Sora's funeral. Some of them were from Tokyo University where Orihime attended college . Shiba Kaien, Professor of English was there and with shocked eyes, watched Orihime collapse.

Kaien was one of the most popular teachers in their school. He just turned twenty-five; he had bluish-black hair that was somewhat unruly. Ocean blue eyes that expressed both intelligence and humor. His well built body and casual way of dressing completed the appearance that many undergraduates found hot.

He was genuinely interested in Orihime. It wasn't just because of the girl's beauty but her kind and cheerful personality too. She had been in two of his classes every year since she entered TU. He knew about her history and had wanted to see if the abduction had an aftereffect on her. He discovered that Orihime couldn't write a personal memoir and had a difficult time writing essays about personal experiences. But Orihime's reviews on authors, books and plays were remarkable. They were thought- provoking, reasonable and well written.

Three days ago, she was in his class, writing a review paper on the book, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. That day, Orihime was called to the office for a very important matter. Sensing something off, Kaien accompanied her. Somberly, the dean told her that her brother had been in multivehicle accident.

Immediately, Kaien drove Orihime to the hospital. Rangiku was already there, her strawberry blonde hair framed her face which made her glossy light blue eyes filled with grief stand out even more. Kaien had met the older Inoue during orientations and conventions; he had been very impressed with the assistant prosecutor's protectiveness over her sister.

One look and Orihime knew that their brother had passed away. Kaien could only watch as tears began to cascade Orihime's face, over and over she'd whimper "my fault, my fault, my fault", ignoring Rangiku's insistence not to blame herself.

Distressed, Kaien rushed to Orihime and picked her up, scanning wildly for a place to lay her down. He spotted a bench; he lifted her up and gently placed her on the bench. "Inoue-san, Inoue-san" he tried to wake her up. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Excuse me" a gentle voice said, "I'm a doctor, allow me" she said.

The woman had long black hair that was neatly braided behind her, she knelt down beside the bench and assessed Orihime. "Orihime-san" she said gently. Orihime stirred. The doctor stood up and turned to Rangiku, "Rangiku-san, she'll be alright but she is no condition to continue with the ceremony" she said.

"Okay, thank you Dr. Unohana" Rangiku sighed. She glanced at her brother's casket then back at her sister, she had to be strong, for her sister and for herself.

"Inoue-san" Kaien put a hand on Rangiku's shoulder, "I'll stay with her until the ceremony ends" he said.

Rangiku smiled, "thank you" she said, patted his shoulder then left.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.

"_Eastside . . . Westside . . . "_

No!

"_All around the town . . . Boys and girls together . . ."_

She could hear the tinkling of the song in her head, over and over.

She could see the knife, blood everywhere.

_Blue . . ._

_Silver . . . _

_Brown . . . _

_Who do you belong to, Shirou?_

"RAN NEE-CHAN!" Orihime shrieked, "Ran nee-chan!" she shot up, her eyes wildly scanning the place. Her body was covered in cold sweat. "Calm down, Inoue-san" Kaien put a hand on her shoulder. Orihime flinched at first, her gray eyes widened fearfully. Kaien was utterly confused. It was like Orihime was looking at him but she was seeing someone else, someone she was deathly afraid of. "Hey, It's just me Inoue-san" he knelt in front of her so that he was eye level with her.

"Shiba-sensei?" Orihime gasped hazily, "Wh-What happened?" she asked.

Kaien sat the end of the bench, "You fainted" he said simply. "But are you alright now?" he asked.

Orihime nodded.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.

Sousuke simply smirked when Orihime fainted at the sound of his voice. _She still remembers,_ he thought.

"She's grown so much" Gin said from Sousuke's side.

"Indeed" Sousuke agreed, "But she still mine" he smiled darkly.

Sousuke had abandoned the nerdy look that he had twelve years ago. Now his rich brown hair was swept back with a few strands artfully falling onto his forehead. Now that his bangs were no longer in the way, his eyes were noticeable; the intelligence and confidence prominent in his eyes.

"She's more beautiful now" he commented, "Don't you think so, Grimmjow"

"Hn, still a wimp though" Grimmjow scoffed.

Grimmjow has changed in appearance too. His features were now more masculine, his body toned and muscular, and his height catching up to his two brothers. But his eyes remain the same, blue with a feral glint in them. It was Gin who seemed virtually the same as he did twelve years ago.

"Still mine" Sousuke repeated

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Dr. Uruhara Kisuke was the resident psychiatrist in Karakura, a well renowned doctor, one of the best in all of Japan. He was one of Rangiku's drinking partners, "he sure can hold his liquor" Rangiku commented on him. Rangiku like him as a drinking companion but she wasn't really fond of him as a doctor, she thought he was not very capable and thought he was a lunatic himself. But he was the only psychiatrist she knew and according to people, he was quite good.

She called him ten days after their brother's funeral, "She's been blaming herself for Sora nii-s . . . accident" Rangiku hesitated with the last word, it was still too hard to believe. "She's been having nightmares, she calls it the knife dream" she added.

"This dream, how often does she have it?" the doctor asked

"Every night!" the strawberry blonde haired woman exclaimed, "she's been having it since she was small but it's more recurrent these past days"

_Why now? _Kisuke thought. "Rangiku-san has there been a drastic change in personality?"

Rangiku thought for a while "Yeah, there is. Before the kidnapping, Orihime was a confident and adventurous child but now she never wants to stay out long or go on outside the country trips" she stated. "She's afraid of going to bed. I'm suspecting she was sexually abused during the two years that she was abducted. She loves Sora nii dearly but she never sat on his lap anymore". It was difficult for Rangiku to be sharing these to Dr. Urahara, but she had to, even if these were sensitive topics.

Everything Rangiku said, Kisuke noted. "Wasn't she examined when they found her?"

"She was but Sora nii didn't want to see them", _it broke his heart even more, _Rangiku kept that to herself

"Okay then, I'll have to contact Ishida-san for her records. How about boyfriends?"

"Well as you'll see. My sister is a very beautiful young woman, just like me. She's been asked out by a lot of guys but she's never gone out with any. You see, she's afraid of being alone with a man" she added.

Kisuke paused for a while, "I'll see her tomorrow morning at eleven" the doctor confirmed.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

The next day, Rangiku and Orihime drove to Dr. Urahara's clinic. Honestly, Orihime didn't want to go, she didn't think she needed to see a psychiatrist but her sister was simply too insistent.

Dr. Urahara's clinic was . . . strange. Its exterior was that of a shoten, a small wooden shoten.

"That's odd" Orihime giggled

"Well the owner's odd so it only makes sense that the place is odd" Rangiku commented before she pulled Orihime to the clinic.

Orihime almost jumped when a huge and brawny man with a mustache opened the door. He had glasses on with his hair braided differently. It was only then did Orihime realize that he was wearing an apron. That was . . . funny.

"Good morning and welcome, Rangiku-dono and Orihime-dono" he greeted politely, "I am Tessai, and I am Dr. Urahara's secretary"

Orihime found Tessai, interesting. He was a huge and beefy man but he was so polite and accommodating that he seemed more like a butler than a secretary.

"Dr. Urahara will be up in a few moments" he said as he laid the tea in front of them.

Not long after, a man with light blonde hair arrived. He had a green and white striped hat, low enough to conceal his eyes but high enough for him to see his patients. He was wearing a green kimono and a pair of traditional Japanese sandals. He wore, what seemed to be a black lab coat over his kimono. Behind him where two children; a girl with jet black hair and a boy with fiery red hair.

"Hello Rangiku-san" Kisuke greeted the older Inoue, then he turned to Orihime, "a pleasure to meet you Orihime-san"

The wooden shoten turns out to be a treatment facility, a surprisingly huge treatment and rehabilitation facility. Dr. Urahara led the two to his private office but asked Rangiku to stay at the waiting area. Upon hearing this, Orihime had a panicked expression on her face. Once inside the office, she refused to recline on the couch and chose to sit across Dr. Urahara.

She was silent and withdrawn, very different from when she was with her sister. Her eyes were darting here and there, as if formulating a way out if something goes wrong.

"I want to help you, Orihime-san" Kisuke broke the silence

Orihime's eyes rested on him, "Can you bring back my brother?"

"I wish I could but everything happens for a reason, maybe it was just your brother's time to go" Kisuke tried to explain that it just wasn't her fault.

"No" Orihime insisted, "Things happen because of me, Onii-chan died because of me" her gray eyes filled with sorrow and pain as she watched her fingers fiddle with the hem of her skirt.

"Why do you say it's your fault?"

Orihime's eyes shot to Kisuke, "because I'm weak" she uttered.

"Weak?"

"Yes"

"How so?"

"I'm selfish, people get hurt because of me, they get into fights because of me, and I can never protect myself that's why I still need Onii-chan and Onee-chan" she answered, her eyes casted down, pools of gray reflecting the hurt and pain she's been through.

"Would you like to tell me anything else, Orihime-san?"

Orihime was silent. She seemed so lost in thought; she was in another world. So Kisuke tried another track, "Orihime-san, Rangiku-san mentioned something about you having bad dreams or rather, a nightmare you used to have when you were younger has come back. Tell me about those dreams.

Orihime's eyes widened, "The knife dream?" she whispered

"Yes that. Tell me about this knife dream"

Orihime froze. She heard a wailing inside her mind. She pulled her legs against her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. The wailing wasn't just from inside her. It was coming from her chest travelling to her throat and out her mouth.

"M-Mala S-Suerte" she whimpered

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Grimmjow huffed as he listened to the boring meeting Sousuke insisted he joined. _Enough with the crap, _he thought. He was so damn bored, he didn't like meetings like these and he certainly didn't like wearing these formal clothes.

"Are you alright, Aizen-san?" a woman with black hair tied in a bun asked

Grimmjow turned to her, bored. With the way he looked, she should've realized that he was fine, just really irritated.

"Let him be, Ise-san" Gin said from across the girl, Ise Nanao, Kyoraku Shinsui's secretary.

She simply nodded at Gin and returned to listening to her boss and the eldest Aizen's conversation. Aizen Sousuke was signing a contract with Kyoraku Shinsui, owner of the biggest telecommunication company in all of Japan. Thirteen years ago, Sousuke was just a fledgling businessman, now he was hotelier and owned a series of media networks and one the youngest tycoons in the world.

"It was great doing business with you, Kyoraku-san" Sousuke smiled and shook his business partner's hand

"Same here" Shinsui's lips tugged upward lazily. He then called his secretary and proceeded to leave.

It was silent when Mr. Kyoraku and Ms. Ise left the room. Grimmjow was scowling at the wall, Gin was grinning (as usual) and Sousuke was smiling contentedly.

"Shirou-chan's attending Tokyo University right? Do you think she'll go back after her brother's death?" Gin broke the silence.

"She may or she may not" Sousuke simply answered. He was thinking about how much Orihime has grown since the last time he saw her. He wanted to touch that waterfall of auburn hair, see those gray eyes of hers and touch her soft cheek. Oh how he wanted to get her back.

"Gin, I think it's time to get Shirou back" Sousuke declared.

Grimmjow turned to his brothers as he heard Sousuke. Now he was interested.

"What've you got in mind?" Grimmjow interrupted

"I have it all planned, little brother" Sousuke grinned darkly.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

On Orihime's second session with Dr. Kisuke, Orihime told him that she would be going back to school by tomorrow so she would only have sessions with him on Saturdays.

Today Orihime got Dr. Kisuke confused. She was wearing a pink baby doll blouse paired with a white skirt and a pair of doll shoes. Her hair was pulled back by a clip with her bangs clipped to the sides by the hairpins she always wore. Today Orihime looked refreshed. This, Kisuke deduced, was the real Orihime. An Orihime who did not let the pain that she was feeling ruin her life.

"I'd like to thank you Dr. Urahara" Orihime smiled, a genuine smile. "For making me realize that Onii-chan is a better place now and that I should go on living happily so that Onii-chan would be happy too"

Kisuke smiled "I'm glad to have helped". Kisuke could see the gleam in her eyes, it was a shimmer of hope. "How about those nightmares?" He asked.

"I still have them but I can manage" she said, "I just don't know about the little blue men though" a giggle escaped her lips

"Little blue men?"

Orihime nodded enthusiastically "yep. They keep on hiding my things, sometimes it gets annoying" she explained

"Oh!" Kisuke laughed awkwardly. _At least she isn't depressed anymore. _He thought

Orihime then caught sight of Rangiku tapping on the window and pointing to her watch. Immediately, Orihime got the message. She turned to Kisuke and said "Thank you so much for your time Dr. Urahara but I'm afraid we've got to get going", she stood up.

Kisuke stood up to usher her out, "by the way Orihime-san, care to tell me why you don't hang out with friends during Saturdays?"

Orihime was standing at the door post, was looking at him with innocent eyes, and then she looked down. Somehow, Kisuke felt something very strange was going on. Orihime's stance suddenly straightened, and when she lifter her chin, her eyes shone a different gray. "Because he doesn't have work on Saturdays" a secretive smile plagued her lips.

Then with a blink of an eye, her eyes returned to those sweet and innocent eyes, "Well you see I don't like going out much" she smiled sheepishly.

"But Orihime-san you just said it was because 'he doesn't have work on Saturdays'" Kisuke wondered what had just happened.

Orihime looked at him bemusedly, "He? I don't remember saying that". Orihime waved at Kisuke then left.

As soon as Orihime left Kisuke figured out what he just saw.

"Tessai, contact Dr. Kurosaki immediately" he ordered.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.``.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

"Hiiimeee" Rangiku squealed as she hugged Orihime from behind. Rangiku hadn't gone back to work since their brother's accident, she wanted to spend time with Orihime until she decided to go back to school.

"Ran nee-chan! You surprised me!" Orihime giggled nervously

"Hey! Let's go shopping today!"

"S-Shopping? But we went shopping yesterday"

"Yes but I still have a lot of things I want to buy" Rangiku flashed Orihime her winning smile.

Orihime smiled back at her. Rangiku could remain positive, even at tough times. _I envy you so much, Onee-chan. You're so strong. _Suddenly Rangiku grabbed her face and brought Orihime's face closer to her; staring seriously at her "I-Is there something on my face?" Orihime questioned. Rangiku scanned her face intently, "Why aren't you wearing make up?" Rangiku asked slowly.

"W-What?"

"I said why aren't you wearing make up?" Rangiku asked in a sterner tone

"Um . . . you see um . . . I uh . . ." Orihime explained nervously

"Inoue Orihime how many times have I told you, you are no longer a child! You're a young woman now, and what did I say about young women?" Rangiku suddenly asked Orihime as though she was a child again.

"That women wear make up" Orihime answered

"And why is that?"

"b-because make up keeps you from crying"

Suddenly Rangiku approached Orihime, hugging her, an almost motherly embrace. She stroked Orihime's longhair "and they keep you shielded so that you won't look so vulnerable" she said softly. "Now" Rangiku parted from the embrace, she rummaged through her bag and brought her make up kit out "let's fix you up" she gleamed.

Orihime ended up wearing lip gloss and a hint of eye shadow, making her eyes stand out even more. "Now was that so difficult?" Rangiku asked as she drove to the mall, "honestly Hime, you're a very beautiful girl any guys would kill to have you for a girlfriend! There are a lot of decent men in your school, why don't you give them a shot? How 'bout that little classmate of yours, Ishida Uryuu, he's smart and cute"

"I'm waiting for the right guy" Orihime uttered, "How the heck will you know if he's the right guy if you don't even let guys near you?" Rangiku asked. "I'll know when I meet him" Orihime assured her sister. "Fine" Rangiku sighed in defeat, "Have it your way". Orihime giggled at her sister's childish response.

"By the way, Ran nee-chan I'll be going back to school tomorrow" Orihime announced.

"Eh? Why so soon?" Rangiku pouted.

Orihime smiled, "I need to go back too school, I've missed too much and besides you need to go back to imprisoning bad people"

"Hmm" Rangiku thought, "yeah . . . they must miss me at the office" Rangiku flashed Orihime a confident grin

"I'm sure they do" Orihime chuckled.

"Yosh! Let's celebrate today!" Rangiku exclaimed, "Hime, call Tats, we're going to the club tonight!" she cheered as she sped the car up.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

It was good to go back to the office. Rangiku was glad to see her officemates and to sit back in her red swivel chair. The only thing she didn't like was the stock of paperwork, stacked on her desk.

"Yosh! Let's get to work!" she pumped her fists in the air

Not even an hour passed and Rangiku had already abandoned her paperwork. Deciding that she'll finish her work later, she called Orihime

"Hello" Orihime's voice greeted her

"How's it going Hime?"

"So-so, I went to all my three classes but I don't remember entering my last one though Tats said I was present"

"Oh maybe you're just tired and didn't remember going to that class"

"Hmm . . . maybe" Orihime said thoughtfully

"Do you have any plans tonight? You see I was planning to go to this hot new club tonight and-"

"Onee-chan" Orihime interrupted, "I think I'm going to sleep early tonight"

"Well okay" Rangiku said hesitantly, "you rest okay. I'll be home by eight"

"Okay" Orihime said softly.

By eight o'clock Rangiku got home and expected to see Orihime in bed but her bed was empty. She called Orihime but she wasn't picking up. So thinking Orihime was with Tatsuki, she phoned the raven haired girl.

"Hello"

"Tats, it's me Rangiku"

"Oh Ran nee, how have you been?" Tatsuki's voice brightened

"I'm doing well. Um . . . say Tats, is Hime with you?"

"Hime? No she said she was going home but I think she changed her mind because she changed her clothes. She was all dressed up like ready to go to a party. I thought she was going to a club with you?" Tatsuki said with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Well she said she was going to sleep early tonight but she's not here"

"Oh I'll try to call her then I'll call you, okay?" Tatsuki said trying to assure Rangiku. She knew that the two sisters have been through a lot this past days; she didn't want to worry her more.

At half past eleven, Rangiku peered into Orihime's room and found her curled up in her bed.

"Orihime!" Rangiku gasped

Orihime shot up as she heard Rangiku, "What? What?" she panicked

"Y-You're here?" Rangiku's eyes widened

"I've been sleeping all night" Orihime said bewildered

Rangiku thought again? Was Orihime here when she came home or were her eyes playing tricks on her? What ever it was, Rangiku was just pleased to see Orihime home and unharmed.

"Okay, good night then" Rangiku smiled and patted Orihime shoulder

"Night, night Ran nee-chan" Orihime yawned

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.

Dr. Urahara sensed a change in Orihime. It was her third visit and Kisuke could clearly see the change in her posture, her voice and disposition. She leaned in the chair, her eyes heavy with dark circles under her eyes. Kisuke asked about how Orihime's week went. So different from the Orihime that entered his office a week ago.

"Well, it feels good to be back but I just missed so much and it's quite difficult to catch up" Orihime explained tiredly. Everything is fine, it's just that . . . "her voice faltered

"What is it, Orihime-san?"

Orihime hesitated as though she wasn't sure if Kisuke would believe her if she told him.

"You can tell me" Kisuke encouraged

"You see, Doctor, there are things that I do that I don't remember doing. First I don't remember entering my last class yesterday, but my classmates say I was present. Then last night Rangiku said I came home late but all the while I've been asleep" Orihime conveyed

"I could see that Ran nee-chan didn't believe me when I said I didn't go out. She was so worried" her expression saddened

"Maybe you were out. You need to have a social life too" Kisuke suggested.

"I don't have time to go out. I have too much to catch up to"

"How about those dreams?"

"The knife dream"

"Okay let's try this" Kisuke shifted in his seat, "In therapy, there's what we call 'Abreaction'. In abreaction, you abreact what you see in the dream. I think that you don't want to sleep because you're afraid of this dream" he explained. "You don't have to speak, you can just show me"

Orihime stood up. She held a hand up as though holding an imaginary blade. Her mouth in a twisted thin-lipped smile. She walked deliberately to where Kisuke was seated, slashing the imaginary knife towards him. Then she stopped and pivoted in her spot, her expression changed; fear spread across her face as she tried to cover herself. She wiped something in her face, she looked down at her hands and began to tremble, terrified at what she saw. Suddenly she fell to the floor, curled into a ball, hugging her knees and making whimpering sounds.

A few silent minutes passed, "That was it" Orihime declared

"Are you in the dream, Orihime-san?" Kisuke asked

"Yes" Orihime answered softly

"Which one? The one holding the knife or the one who fears the knife?"

"Both" Orihime murmured, "in the end we both die" she said in almost a whisper

Kisuke sighed, he pitied this poor girl. "Orihime-san, I would like to refer you to a psychiatrist, he's one of my friends. I believe he can help you more than I. Would you sign a release form so I can discuss your case with him?"

"Okay" Orihime said meek without complaint

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

The sound of the alarm's persistent beeping pulled a certain Kurosaki Ichigo from his three hours of slumber.

It was seven thirty. He groaned. He pushed the covers aside, flexing and stretching his muscles. Kurosaki Ichigo didn't really look like the doctor that he was; his legs were long and muscular, his chest chiseled, his body lean and well toned. He had unusual orange hair that got him into a lot of fights during his high school years. His face was handsome but this was masked by the repelling scowl that he wore almost permanently. But who would've guessed that at the age of twenty-two, this man would be one of the best psychiatrists in all of Japan.

Ichigo specialized at Multiple Personality Disorder or MPD and Bipolar cases. MPD and Bipolar are rare cases. His colleagues warned him that specializing on this field was going to be difficult and a waste of his talent but he persevered. He perused this field and fought to establish his own clinic.

At exactly eight thirty he arrived at the Tokyo Mental Asylum, his building was adjacent to the Kurosaki General Hospital which his father owned. He sauntered into the lobby, slowing down only to nod whenever nurses or staff stopped to greet him.

Dr. Kurosaki was not a morning person.

Everybody knew that. Everybody was aware of Ichigo's terrifying temper and no one; _no one_ dare test his patience.

But the people in the hospital loved and respected him. He's a good person. They'd say. For although Ichigo may not have the patience most doctors should possess, he did everything in his power to help the people in need.

Ichigo checked his watch, eight forty. He still had enough time for a cup of coffee and to check on his patients' progress. He heard a soft knock on the door, followed by the cheerful greeting of a small girl with black hair tied in a neat bun; she set the cup of coffee in front of Ichigo, "Good morning Dr. Kurosaki"

Hinamori Momo is Ichigo's secretary. She has been organizing appointments and making sure that Ichigo sticks to his schedule ever since the Tokyo Mental Asylum began. "Black coffee just the way you like it" she smiled

"Thanks" the doctor replied

"Sir, Capt. Zaraki will be seeing you at 9 o'clock" Momo told her boss, who responded with a nod. "Followed by Mr. Apollo then Ms. Cirucci" she added.

Ichigo sighed. Capt. Zaraki was his psychopath patient who was hungry for fights and blood, a captain who was still in war shock or was just simply insane. Either way, he was one of Ichigo's toughest patients. Capt. Zaraki would only sit down and take his medicines if Dr. Kurosaki beats him in what he declares as 'fight to death'. "Okay, get the basement ready" Ichigo ordered.

"All ready sir" Hinamori replied capably, "And shall I prepare Zangetsu incase Mr. Apollo and Ms. Cirucci get out of hand?"

Last time Ichigo met the mad scientist Apollo and the psychotic Cirucci. He had to use his kendo skills just to have them take a seat. Apollo was a freaky patient, put your guard down for just a second and you'll wake up a few minutes with a missing kidney. Cirucci on the other hand is handful, she isn't as fiendishly cunning as Apollo but she was brutal, murderous and basically difficult. "No" Ichigo replied, "Just make sure their straightjackets are strong enough to really restrain them"

Hinamori nodded and headed for the door, but before taking her leave, she stopped and said "Oh yes, and Dr. Urahara will be here by 11 o'clock".

Usually Ichigo kept his 11 o'clock free but today he made an exception to talk to Dr. Urahara.

Ichigo owed Dr. Urahara his whole career, he wouldn't be where he was right now if it weren't for that hat and clogs doctor. So, he wanted to return the favor by giving him his free hour. An urgent call from Karakura, Sunday morning piqued his interest. Dr. Urahara had called about discussing with him about a patient of his who he suspects to have MPD and is potentially suicidal.

At exactly 11 o'clock Dr. Urahara arrived at Tokyo Mental Asylum along with his secretary, Tessai. "Good morning, Kurosaki-san I hope you are doing well" Kisuke greeted as he took a seat in front to Ichigo.

"Well I was doping fine until you came in" Ichigo said gruffly as he pulled to loosen his tie.

"Oh how rude" the older doctor pouted through his fan. "Anyway I am thankful that you took time to accommodate me"

"Well let's get straight to the point before I regret doing so"

"Ah straightforward as always" Kisuke grinned.

Ichigo listened carefully as Kisuke elaborated on his patient's condition. "I am not an expert at MPD, but there were signs, then I have been seeing them. There has been change in her voice, her eyes, her posture and manner during her last three visits. She is unaware of certain things that she has done and she is not lying when she says she doesn't remember doing them or saying something. She has been having this recurrent nightmare she calls 'Knife Dream', when I asked her abreact it there was a point when she was the one slashing the knife then she reverts to being to avoiding the knife. Here I made a copy of her file" Kisuke concluded as he handed the file.

The most beautiful creature greeted him as he opened the file. Long lush auburn hair framing her seraphic face, a soft and warm smile graced her lips making Ichigo melt unconsciously. The girl was so familiar yet was a stranger to him. He read the pages swiftly.

He was definitely fascinated by the case.

A beloved child kidnapped at the age of five and abandoned by the kidnappers at age seven, with complete memory loss of the intervening two years! A recurring nightmare! A sister's perception that since the family's reunion she has responded to stress with childlike anxiety. Tragic death of her eldest brother for which she blamed herself.

"The records from Ishida Hospital indicate probable sexual abuse for a long period of time and counseling was recommended. I gather there was none" Ichigo said seriously

"There was total denial on the late brother's part" Kisuke answered, "and refused to take her to therapy"

"Hn . . . quite typical" Ichigo added thoughtfully. "You must bring her to me as soon as possible" Ichigo said urgently.

"That is going to be rather difficult, Kurosaki-san. Her sister had to beg her before she talked to me" Kisuke chuckled lightly.

Ichigo frowned, "bring me the sister then. I am sure she can talk some sense into the patient. We must take this seriously" Ichigo sternly stated, "Patients who have had childhood trauma have a high risk of either being suicidal or can inflict serious harm on others"

"Very well, I shall talk to Rangiku-san" Kisuke said before taking his leave.

Ichigo sat back down on his swivel chair. He pushed all the papers on his desk and retrieved her file.

"Inoue Orihime"

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.

At eleven o'clock, Monday evening, Professor Shiba Kaien stretched out on his bed and yawned. He had a rough day today and was ready to call it a day. He was about to turn his night table lamp of when he noticed the lavender envelope beside it. He reached out to grab it; it was a love letter.

He had been receiving letters for the past few months. Kaien had received this one, this afternoon; he found it on his desk when classes ended. It was poem from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with a little bit of sweet nothings at the end. Kaien smirked, how could this girl have known that he loved Shakespeare? He was quite sure that the sender was in one of his classes, but he could not pinpoint since the letter was computerized and could have been sent by anyone, even a guy. Kaien shuddered at the thought. He smiled as he traced the signature.

_Miyako_

Oh how he wondered who this Miyako was. He didn't have any Miyako in his class, nor did he know any Miyako from his high school years, then who was she?

He too sent replies to her letters. It was courtship through literature. Somehow, even though he hasn't seen this Miyako, he has been infatuated by her, by her letters, by her intellect. Sometimes he would dream that in the dark of the night, she would drop by. She would sit by his side or lay down beside him. Sometimes his dreams were so vivid that he could feel her soft hair, he could smell her sweet scent, he could hear her call him and he felt her soft kisses. Sometimes when he felt bold he would hug her and she would wrap her slim arms around him and hug him back. Her presence was very familiar, it was as if he had met her somewhere, but he can't quite figure it out.

A yawn signaled that it was time to turn in, so he put the letter on the night stand and turned the lamp of.

Slowly as he succumbed to sleep, he heard footsteps nearing him. He could see the figure of a woman, her long hair flowing with the breeze. He saw her smile but couldn't see her face. He knew it! She wasn't just a dream, she was here.

"Miyako" he whispered

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Author's note:

I really like Kaien so I just had to put him in my fanfic. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying the story. I will try to update as soon as I can. Schedule's been hectic lately and I've got less and less time to finish the story. But not to worry, I won't leave you guys hanging.

Reviews are a must ^-^

~Ember


	4. Neliel

**Author's Note: Hi! I'm bacckk! Sorry for taking too long to update. I've been quite busy. Anyway, I thank you guys and I hope you enjoy this one. Oh and I recommend another story of mine, it's called Eve of the 7th.**

**Ja ne~**

**Ember ^-^**

Chapter 3:

Neliel

Rangiku drove to Tokyo Mental Asylum at 6 o'clock that evening. She got a call from Dr. Urahara that he and a certain Dr. Kurosaki would like to speak to her about her sister. Whenever Rangiku would hear the word '_your sister'_ she would not hesitate to go beyond the speed limit.

She arrived at the Asylum and was ushered by Tessai to Dr. Kurosaki's office.

Dr. Kurosaki's office was very manly. His walls were painted a forest green that was very relaxing to the eyes; he had a huge oak desk with a black swivel chair behind it and two leather chairs in front of it for visitors. Behind his swivel chair were rows of bookshelves and at the corner was a drawer of files.

"Good evening Inoue-san, I'm Dr. Kurosaki Ichigo" the young man greeted and held a hand out to her, "thank you for coming here on such short notice"

Rangiku could have sworn she'd seen him somewhere. On TV? A magazine? Newspaper? She could remember seeing orange hair like his during her younger years, she just really couldn't tell where.

"Inoue-san?" the orange haired doctor snapped her out of her thoughts

"Ah yes" Rangiku turned to the young man, "nice to meet you too" Rangiku simply smiled

She proceeded to sit on the chairs in front of Dr. Kurosaki. "So" she started, "You said you'd like to speak to me about my sister"

"Rangiku-san about your sister, it seems that she has Multiple Personality Disorder" Dr. Urahara broke the news hard and fast.

The strawberry blonde woman's jaw dropped, "What? You better not be playing tricks on me Kisuke!"She frowned. Rangiku was a prankster and enjoyed joking around but when it came to her sister, there was no joking around.

"I'm sorry Rangiku-san but I'm very serious"

"But-"

"A primary cause of MPD is childhood trauma, particularly sexual abuse over a prolonged period of time" Kisuke explained

"Sexual abuse?" Rangiku couldn't believe it, everything she spent twelve years denying was being thrown at her, "yes my sister had experienced childhood trauma but sexual abuse?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong but you did say that you refused to look at the results of the hospital examination and those records state that there was probable sexual abuse over a long period of time" Kisuke informed the distressed sister.

"Oh God! A long period of time?" she cried, her face growing pale

"It's like this, Inoue-san" Ichigo intervened, "If your sister has become a multiple personality, it probably started back at the time of her abduction. Assuming she was abused, she must have been so terrified that one small girl couldn't take everything that was happening. At that point, there was shattering. Psychologically speaking, your sister, withdrew from the pain and fear and alter personalities came to help her. Her memory of those years are locked in those personalities" he explained. "Dr. Urahara has been seeing distinct change in her personality during her sessions and we are afraid she is suicidal"

Rangiku went even paler; everything was going too fast, it was all too much for her.

"But, that couldn't possibly be! She's depressed about our brother's death, yes but suicidal?" she gasped

"Inoue-san, can you persuade Orihime to come see me?" Ichigo asked.

Rangiku turned her shocked blue eyes to the young doctor, "Are you kidding me? I had to fall to my knees and beg her to see Kisuke, it would be more difficult now with you" she said

"Why is that?"

"You see, Kurosaki-san, Orihime-san has a fear of men and she very much afraid of young men like you" Kisuke told the young doctor

Ichigo sighed. Of course she was afraid of men. "Okay then, she will continue seeing Dr. Urahara but Inoue-san you have to constantly report to me and to Dr. Urahara the slightest things that she does that isn't very normal of her, even the most offhand. Please we must take this seriously. And remember be _very_ observant" Ichigo concluded.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`,`

It was very difficult for Orihime to keep Rangiku from realizing just how afraid she was. She had stopped telling Rangiku and Dr. Urahara that her dreams were getting worse, that the knife was getting closer and closer to her. But most of all she was afraid of the dreadfully strong feeling that something very bad was to come her way.

Dr. Urahara said he wanted to help her, but she just couldn't completely tell him what was going on inside her. Sometimes the sessions with him go by so swiftly that she doesn't even remember talking to him.

She was always tired and she always had a migraine. Even though every night she stayed at home and slept, she was always still very tired. It would shock her in the morning when she would find that her assignments were already done when she doesn't even remember doing them that night.

Her head pounded painfully, there were people shouting at her and their voices echoed endlessly. There was one person who scolded her for telling Dr. Urahara too much information. The other was laughing at her and calling her a wimp and a 'fraidy cat'. Sometimes there was a child who kept on crying inside her. And there was the voice, gentle and intellectual but she kept talking about Shiba-sensei.

Orihime tried to pay attention to class but she was feeling dizzy. Her head hurts and the voice that talked about Shiba-sensei was getting louder and louder.

"_Kaien is your next class" it _told her_, _"_Oh how exciting!"_

There was complete silence inside Orihime's head, her vision blurred then

Everything went black.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Kaien had a bad scene with his girlfriend that night. He had forgotten to lock the drawer where he kept all of Miyako's letters and Senna had somehow found it.

"Who the hell is Miyako?" she shouted

"I don't know" he answered honestly

"You don't know? Then why the hell is she writing you all these crap?" she asked harshly

Normally, he would let her vent out all her temper in her bitter tirade but right now he just could not tolerate her calling Miyako's letters 'crap'. "They're not crap!" he raised his voice, " And just because you can't understand them doesn't mean they're crap, Senna!" he retorted.

Senna's eyes widened. Never in their whole relationship had Kaien raised his voice at her. And here he was, shouting at her for calling those letters 'crap'. "I leave you for a few weeks to work so that we can have a stable future and you repay me by cheating on me" she accused, "and what's worse, you're seeing one of your students!" she spat with contempt.

"Speak for yourself" Kaien scoffed, "Everyone knows you don't have a job. That the business trips you claim to attend are visits to your boyfriend. I know, Senna, I've always known"

The young professor let himself drop on the couch, "Let's face it" he sighed, "it's not working out anymore. Let's just end it and move on"

Silence hung between the two.

"A-Are you breaking up with me?" Senna asked, breaking the silence. Kaien only nodded, refusing to look her in they eye.

Anger coursed through her veins. "No, no, no, you don't get it Kaien Shiba. _No one_ breaks up with me! I say when things end!" she shouted. But still, Kaien refused to look at her. This only fuelled to her anger.

"THIS WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED IF YOU HADN'T MEET HER!" she shrieked

"Enough, Senna! It's over" Kaien simply said.

Senna stared motionless at him. She narrowed her eyes, "Fine" she said between her clenched teeth, grabbing her coat and purse.

"Be happy with her! But you will regret this Kaien, mark my words! YOU WILL REGRET THIS, you and that girl!" she spat, not forgetting to slam the door behind her.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

It was early January; the campus of Tokyo University was covered with a thick layer of snow. Groggily, Orihime walked across the campus to Mr. Shiba's office. Her hands were in the pockets of her baby blue winter jacket she was wearing over her black turtle neck and jeans. Her hair swept past her waist, with the blue hairpins her brother gave her holding her bangs.

"_You look terrible as always" _a mocking voice told her

The loud thoughts were coming more and more often now. She tried to walk faster, thinking that somehow, she might be able to out run them.

"_That's right, run! It's all you ever do, wimp!" _

Orihime ignored the voice and continued scurrying towards Mr. Shiba's office.

She hoped she had done a good job on her character assessment paper. She did a paper on Eponine from Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, she thought she did well but maybe Mr. Shiba wasn't satisfied with her work that's why he was asking her to drop by his office today.

It's been very difficult coping with their lessons lately. These past few weeks, she's been getting B- on her papers, when in fact she used to get As. Sometimes teachers would ask her to recite but the topics would seems so unfamiliar to her, she was sure she wasn't paying attention in class but when she checks her notes, they're complete; though she has no recollections of taking them down.

She managed to smile at the student exiting from Mr. Shiba's office.

"_You big liar! You're SO Pathetic" _

Orihime shut her eyes, _I am not, _she answered defiantly in her head as she knocked on the half open door. Pleasant warmth emanated from Mr. Shiba's office, "Come in, Inoue-san" he smiled.

Mr. Shiba's office was small, with walls painted with a subtle blue and bookshelves lined the wall to the right; stacks of paper scattered at a corner of the room and a small coffee machine placed on a table at his side. The top of his desk was clean, containing only a penholder, a fishbowl in which a solitary goldfish inhabited and a sticky note pad.

"Sit down, Inoue-san", he motioned to the chair opposite his desk. Today, he was wearing a dark blue sweater with a white scarf wrapped around his neck. Orihime noticed that the shirt accentuated the color of his eyes.

"What was it that you wanted to speak to me about?" Orihime asked

Kaien opened his drawer and fumbled through a stack of papers. A few moments later, he held up her last paper, her character evaluation paper. "Is there something wrong with it?" she asked apprehensively.

"No" he chuckled, "It's wonderful. I just don't see why you changed you're opinion on Ponine?"

"_He liked it!" _a voice in her head squealed, while another spat _"oh shut up!"_

"Last week you passed a character paper telling me that 'Eponine is selfish. Eponine, taking the bullet for Marius was not to save him but because she knew that she could never have Marius and so she decided to end her life, instead of give up on him. In the end, she still was selfish'" he read from the first paper. Then holding up another he read," But yesterday, you submitted another paper, changing you're opinion to 'Eponine is a hero; she redeemed herself through selfless love. If I were Eponine, knowing that Marius is happy and alive, then that would make me very happy'"

Kaien smiled. "I would've done the same thing; I would've gladly taken the bullet for the person I love the most." he said softly. "What made you change your mind?"

What exactly? Orihime thought. She wrote the first paper but she has no recollections of submitting the later. "I don't remember writing the second paper" she stated.

Kaien scanned the paper, "but your name is here" he added. He handed the paper over to Orihime, for her to see. Orihime read what was written on the paper, it was her name alright, but that was not her penmanship, not her style of writing. "Maybe I was touched by her sacrifice" Orihime lied.

Kaien noticed that Orihime was acting rather differently today. She looked as though she was dead tired and could barely focus on what they were discussing.

"Are you alright, Inoue-san?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"Yes" Orihime answered frailly," I'm fine"

Kaien did not believe her but still, he nodded. He scanned Orihime's papers again, comparing the first paper from the second. Scanning through both of them, he noticed something that piqued his interest.

The second paper was hand-written. A neat and curvy penmanship that he had grown _so_ accustomed to seeing. However, this was the first time Orihime submitted a hand-written requirement. Another thing he noticed was that the second paper had a hopeless romantic theme, as if a love struck person wrote it.

"Shiba-sensei?" Orihime interrupted his thoughts, "What happened to the other fish?" she asked, pointing towards the lone goldfish, swimming indifferently.

"A student assistant over fed it. Inoue-san I have a matter I would like to discuss with you . . . "

"I'd rather die of overfeeding than be stabbed by a knife. At least you won't bleed" she mumbled.

Realizing that Kaien was trying to tell her something, she abruptly turned to him, "I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

Kaien's confused expression softened. She must be going through a painful ordeal, trying to get used to living without her beloved brother. "How are you holding up, Inoue-san?" he asked, "It isn't getting better, is it?"

Orihime stared at her professor then, realizing what he meant, she replied "Sometimes I honestly agree with people that Onii-chan's accident was because of a bus with faulty breaks that was going much too fast. Other times . . ." her gaze drifted to her lap, grief flashing through her eyes.

"no" she said almost inaudibly

The voices were shouting at her again. _' You robbed your brother of the rest of his life just as you robbed him and your sister of two years when you waved at that funeral procession_' it accused her.

Orihime didn't wasn't to cry, especially not in front of Shiba-sensei, "I-I have to go" she stammered, her headache getting worse.

With troubled eyes, Kaien watched her get up from her seat. Just before she reached the door, she turned to him and pulled a book from her bag. "Y-you left this in the classroom, Shiba-sensei" she said placing the book on his desk, it was Shakespeare's Othello. It _was_ his. Part of his collection, a gift from one of his high school buddies.

"How did you know it was mine?"

Orihime smiled. Her aura had changed, a loving expression replaced the pained and drained look in her eyes, "You're the only person I know who reads Shakespeare nowadays" and with that she left.

Kaien stared at the book. How could she have possibly known of his fondness of the writer?

_Miyako_

Then it hit him. Inoue Orihime _was_ Miyako, the girl who has captured his heart through her letters and poems was Orihime. Inoue Orihime was the last person he imagined to be his secret admirer, but he was, nonetheless, happy; happy that he has finally unraveled the real identity of Miyako. That he has finally found her, his sweet Miyako or should he say, Orihime.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.

"We got the deal" Sousuke announced as he put his mobile down.

"About damn time" Grimmjow interjected

"Yes" Sousuke agreed, "About time indeed"

Sousuke had just gotten the permit to build his new telecommunications company. And since a government official was his business partner, the man gave him the permission to construct it anywhere he pleased. "And what better place to establish a company, than the humble town of Karakura" he said.

He got up from his chair and walked over to the nearby table.

On the table was the music box Shirou had when they brought her to him. He wound it up and the high pitched voices began to sing

"_Boys and girls together . . . All around the town . . ."_

A dark smiled graced the man's handsome face. "Gin" he called, "You know what to do"

"I sure do"

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Rangiku needed time to think.

Dr. Kurosaki had just given her information that was just too difficult to process, too painful to hear. What was she to do? Her sister was ill and it wasn't just a simple cold, it was much graver than that.

Rangiku took a swig from her whiskey. First her brother dies and now her sister is suicidal. Oh a heart can only take so much. She wanted to cry, she needed to cry but she knew that she had to be strong, for herself and for Orihime. If she cried now, it would be like surrendering, like being defeated.

_Poor Orihime. _She thought. She must have been terrified

"Oh Sora nii, what am I going to do?" she whispered

Orihime must have been so terrified that she had to develop personalities in order to get though the ordeal of being kidnapped.

Again. She took another swig.

"Whiskey ain't good for women"

Rangiku turned to the owner of the voice.

It was a man. A tall man with silver hair and a grin plastered on his face. He was wearing a white button up shirt with simple black slacks and some loafers. He sat beside her.

"Women shouldn't even be drinking liquor, especially ladies such as such as yourself"

Rangiku snorted at this, "For your information I handle my liquor better than most men" she said, sipping from her glass.

"Hmm . . .is that so?" he smiled at her, "Well I think sake is the best liquor. It tastes good and hits ya hard, you know. But it tastes even better when you drink with someone. Don't you think so?"

Rangiku liked sake, but her drink mates never lasted long with the rice liquor. Just a few shots send their stomachs churning and their heads spinning

"yeah"

She gazed at the stranger beside her. She thought he was peculiar. She found his distinct Kyoto accent and slang speech interesting. He looked like a wealthy man and yet he had the grammar similar to that of a sailor's.

Her eyes wandered to the man's body. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbow, exposing his muscular forearms. She could see his finely toned body behind his thin shirt. She mentally smiled. The guy had an unusual aura to him, his constant grin made him appear a little creepy. But the strangest thing is that she found all these strange traits very appealing.

"So" he interrupted her thoughts. "Drink with me?" he smiled.

Rangiku turned to face him and smiled back. "I'd love to"

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

Rangiku stared at the sticky note attached to the breakfast tray on the table.

'Good morning Ran nee-chan!

I had to leave early today but I still made you breakfast.

Eat well and have a nice day ^-^

Love,

Orihime'

A smiled crept across the strawberry blonde's face. It was so like Orihime to make breakfast and leave a note filled with smileys and doodles. Seeing all these just made it even harder to believe everything Dr. Kurosaki said.

The meal consisted of three layers of pancakes dressed in heavy layers of bean paste, peanut butter and maple syrup, topped with strawberries and gummy bears. Most people would have puked at the sight of this so called 'breakfast' but Orihime and Rangiku loved them, if there was at least one thing the sisters had in common, it would be their weird taste. And they could both devour heaps of pancakes.

Rangiku fixed herself a cup of coffee then stuffed herself silly.

In the middle of wolfing down her pancakes, she heard a car pull over into their driveway. Rangiku glanced at the wall clock; it was 10 o'clock in the morning. _It couldn't possibly be Hime_. She thought. Orihime would be in school for the whole day and wouldn't be home till four thirty. It couldn't be Kira or Shuuhei, they were on a case in Hokkaido and they won't be back until Monday, today was only Saturday. Slowly, she got up to see who it was.

She peered through the window and saw a black car but couldn't see who the driver was. Thinking it was only a lost traveler stopping by to check the map, she went back to eating her breakfast. But when she heard a familiar Kyoto accent, she rushed back to the window.

And there he was, standing near his car, the silver haired man from 2 nights ago. He was dressed more casually today, sporting a pear of jeans, a gray shirt and a black coat. He was on the phone and sounded like he was in distress. _He must be lost_, she smirked.

Swiftly, she sprinted to the nearest mirror, brushed her hair and fixed the fluffy white robe she had on top of her thin night gown. Once satisfied, she headed for the door to greet the man.

The man smiled at Rangiku as she approached him. In return, Rangiku flashed him one of her breath-taking smiles as well.

"So we meet again"

"I never expected to see you here" Rangiku grinned as she watched his eyes roam over her robed body.

He grinned even wider, "I never got the chance to ask you name, would you mind telling me?"

"It's Rangiku, Inoue Rangiku, and yours?"

"Gi-" he paused, "Aizen Ichimaru" he answered.

"Ichimaru" Rangiku mumbled, "so what brings you to our humble neighborhood?"

"We just moved from Kyoto, my brothers went ahead of me and I can't seem to find our new house. They said Karakura but they didn't say where in Karakura" Ichimaru explained. "Perhaps" he started, "you can show me around and help me find my brothers"

This time it was Rangiku who grinned, "with pleasure"

She invited him into the house so that she could change into something decent. He stared at the many pictures that adorned their house. He particularly kept his gaze on a picture of Rangiku, Sora, Tatsuki and Orihime on the day of the auburn haired girl's high school graduation.

"That's my sister, Orihime" Rangiku said, pointing to beaming girl in the middle, "and her best friend, Tatsuki" indicating the short haired girl next to Orihime. "And", she touched the picture of the man smiling gently behind the two "my late brother, Sora" she said softly.

Ichimaru kept silent. He knew that Rangiku's brother had just died, after all, he was in the funeral. "I'm sorry" was the only thing he could say.

"It's alright" Rangiku smiled. "He must be at peace in Heaven right now. And besides, I still have Hime with me"

Ichimaru returned his gaze to the picture, "she's grown prettier" he said

Rangiku's brows furrowed in confusion, "grown?"

"I meant she's grown prettier comparing this" he explained, pointing to a picture of Orihime when she was in junior high, "to this" he pointed back to the graduation picture. "She's beautiful" Ichimaru proclaimed, "you both are" he added.

Rangiku was flattered. This man knew how to sweet-talk a woman. "Well then I'll go change so that your pretty tour guide can look even prettier" she chuckled as she headed for her room.

Ichimaru explored the house. He scrutinized the place so that he could describe it to his brothers in full detail. The house was well furnished. Plenty of picture frames decorated their home, the ash blue couch and cobalt Persian rug gave the living room a pleasant and cozy feel. He walked from the living room and into the kitchen. The kitchen was spic and span, obviously because of the younger Inoue because from the looks of it, Rangiku didn't seem like the kind of person who would care about the cleanliness of her surroundings. He spotted a breakfast tray with half eaten food that seemed to be pancakes. Ichimaru grimaced.

He scanned the room and checked if Rangiku had finished changing. Seeing that he was there was no one, he opened one of the drawers. He found a collection of carving knives in the drawer, grabbed the biggest one and shoved it in his pocket.

"Ichimaru" Rangiku called

Ichimaru immediately closed the drawer and neared Rangiku, "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready"

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.

Rangiku got home at around seven thirty. When she arrived Orihime was already home.

"I'm home" Rangiku announced

"Okeri!" Orihime greeted

"Okeri, Ran nee" Tatsuki greeted from the kitchen

"Oh! Tatsuki-chan, you're here" Rangiku exclaimed. _Oh right today's Saturday, sleepover night, _she thought.

Orihime knew her sister was naturally jaunty but today Rangiku was abnormally happy. "Did something good happen today, Ran nee-chan? You look so happy" Orihime inquired.

"Yes something wonderful happened today!" The eldest squealed

"Today, I met the most handsome man on the face of Earth! Well actually I met him two days ago but who cares when I met him what's important is I met him and we're getting along well now. And oh I just love his hair, it's so hot and his body, oh his body" Rangiku began to rant.

"You met someone?" Tatsuki put the knife she was using down

"Yes, his name is Aizen Ichimaru" Rangiku giggled like a love sick teenager

"I'm happy for you. Are you dating?" Orihime asked

"Well not exactly but I know we will. Oh my dear Hime" she sighed blissfully, "I think I'm in love"

Orihime and Tatsuki looked at each other and began to giggle. This was the first time they had ever seen Rangiku so into a man. "Did you hang out with him today?" Orihime asked

"Yes, I gave him a tour around Karakura, he's new here and I just had to show him around. And you know what? He called me beautiful"

"But Ran nee" Tatsuki chuckled, "everyone calls you beautiful"

Rangiku blushed, "but hearing it from him, makes me feel like I'm really beautiful" she giggled. Rangiku grabbed the two girls and hugged them tightly, squealing.

"C-can't b-br-breath Ne-Nee-chan" Orihime managed to say

Rangiku released the best friends, giggling and blushing. She ruffled Orihime's hair and pranced to her room. Just before Rangiku could reach the stairs, she was stopped by Orihime and Tatsuki's conversation.

"Hime, are you using that big carving knife?"

"Nope. Why?"

"Well I need that knife but I can't seem to find it" Tatsuki said fumbling through the drawers.

_We are afraid she is suicidal_

Dr. Kurosaki's voice rang inside her head and she felt a shiver run down her spinal cord. "You didn't take it Orihime?" she asked in a grave tone.

Orihime's eyes widened. Her sister only called her by her full name when she was angry or when she was worried, "n-no I didn't" she stuttered. Rangiku stared at her for a couple of minutes, assessing if Orihime was telling the truth. Finally, her stern gaze dropped and she looked tenderly at her little sister, "Just always be careful, Hime" she said before proceeding upstairs.

`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`

"Rangiku- san just won another case" the auburn haired girl said. "I envy her sometimes. She's so passionate about what she does and she can block out all the negative thoughts"

_Rangiku-san? Didn't she call her Ran nee-chan? _Kisuke thought. Orihime was different today. She had her head held high and looked more mature for her age. She spoke with depth and with a serious tone.

"Yes, I've read about that in the newspaper" Kisuke said. He obsereved that today whenever she spoke about her sister, there was a hint of anger in her voice.

"She's actually really smarter than she seems but sometimes she just doesn't get things"

Kisuke waited. It seemed like she was about to say more, "I can take care of myself! When will she realize that? Sometimes she treats me like a child. I'm already 20 for crying out loud, not five"

"five?"

"The age I was when I got kidnapped"

"_I see."_

"Sometimes I can't help but blame Rangiku-san. If she would've stayed home and played with me, then maybe nothing would've have happened" she said

"Do you hate her?" Kisuke asked.

"No, just annoyed"

"Why is that?" the doctor inquired, leaning on his hand.

"She keeps bugging me about the missing knife. I didn't take it!" Orihime said grunting a little. "And she thinks I'm suicidal. I heard her tell Nanao-san"

"You listen to her conversations?"

"I only overheard it!" she protested.

"Are you sure, she accused you?" Kisuke asked. Orihime fround at him, "She doesn't believe me when I say I didn't take it. I see it in her eyes. I know an accusation when I see one"

"And if I recall correctly, you are afraid of knives, am I right Orihime-san?" he smiled at her

"I wish you'd stop calling me that" she suddenly said

"Why is that?" Kisuke asked, piqued by her statement

"Because I'm not Orihime" the auburn haired girl said. She lifted her gaze to the doctor and it was like looking into another person but she was still the small, gray eyes, auburn haired Orihime Inoue.

"My name is Neliel"

**Author's Note:**

**Hope you guys enjoyed that . . .the next chapter is in progress . . .I promise I'll update as sooner :)**


	5. Head Over Heels

**Author's Note:**

**I was actually reluctant to update this story because of the lack of reviews I was receiving but then again I couldn't just let this story hang around without really finishing it so . . . .here it is.**

**I do hope you leave me a review and tell me all about your thoughts on the story ^-^ I'd appreciate that a lot :)**

**Enjoy~**

**Chapter Four:**

**Head Over Heels**

"I'm telling you man!" Kaien exclaimed, "It's her. Inoue Orihime is Miyako!"

"Inoue Orihime as in Rangiku's little sister?" the man in front of Kaien asked. Kaien only nodded.

Hisagi Shuuhei and Shiba Kaien could've been brothers. If not for the 69 tattoo on his left cheek and the streaks running down his right eye, Kaien and Shuuehei were practically twins.

The two met in high school and have been buddies ever since. Though completely different, Kaien being the upbeat and friendly one and Shuuhei, the calm and mature type; they were the best of friends.

"Are you sure Orihime-san is Miyako-san? I mean, knowing Rangiku-san's little sister, she's too timid to be writing letters every so often" Shuuhei scratched the back of his head in thought.

"That's why she's writing letters!" Kaien's face brightened, "She's too shy to tell me personally so she's expressing herself through poetry" he deduced

Shuuhei has been working with Rangiku for quite sometimes now and he watched Orihime grow from an awkward teen to a blithe young woman. And knowing Rangiku, if Orihime did have romantic feelings for Kaien, she would have blurted it out during one of their drinking sessions.

"Maybe you should make sure first" Shuuhei patted his friend's shoulder, "You shouldn't be too assuming"

"But I can feel it Shuu" Kaien was smiling so widely. It was the first time Shuuhei had seen him smile like that since graduation. "It really is Orihime. Oh man, she's everything I ever dreamed she could be" he sighed dreamily

"Okay so assuming Orihime-san is Miyako-san. Isn't a relationship between a student and a teacher prohibited?"

Kaien put his sake down and stared at Shuuhei, "It is" he nodded, "but I would give up my job just to be with Orihime" he declared.

. . .

On Saturday morning, a sleek black car was parked near the canary yellow Chery QQ Orihime drove.

A man with unruly blue hair stepped out of the black car and circled the said Chery. He opened the door to the driver's seat and grinned, "You never do lock your doors Shirou" he said to himself.

He got the carving knife that his brother, Gin, gave him and slipped it into her book bag. He spotted Orihime's blue scarf and grabbed it. He held it near his nose and inhaled the sweet scent that was Orihime's. He grinned to himself again. Oh they will have her back soon.

. . .

Orihime had just finished another session with Dr. Urahara, yet she could not remember what they talked about. She put a hand to her head and sighed, she needed some sleep.

She didn't really like her sessions with Dr. Urahara but Rangiku kept on insisting she be counseled. She always wondered why her sister looked so upset whenever she'd say she didn't want to go.

It was already dark and Orihime clutched her jacket to keep herself warm. "I shouldn't have left my scarf in the car" she said to herself as she descended the stairs. But when she stepped down the last step, she felt something squishy under her feet. She looked down only to see a severed chick, crushed under her weight, drenched in its own blood. Orihime's whole body shook and an ear piercing scream tore through the whole place.

. . .

"Sound familiar?" Grimmjow chuckled at the sound of Orihime's scream

"Yes" Aizen smirked, "it sounds very nostalgic" he grinned

. . .

Rangiku rushed into the hospital and towards the information desk. A nurse led her to the room where her sister was sleeping soundly, Kisuke standing by the window with Dr. Kurosaki.

"She was about to leave the shoten. She screamed and we found her unconscious. She was in deep shock, she'll come around in a moment" Kisuke told Rangiku who was heaving by the doorway

"What caused it?" She asked, breathless

"Apparently, she stepped on a dead chick" Dr. Kurosaki answered wryly

"A dead chick!" Rangiku exclaimed, "why on earth was there a dead chick on your door way?"

"I have a patient who is involved with occult rituals, he must have dropped it on his way out" Kisuke answered with dry humor. Rangiki shot him a glare and he immediately opened his fan to cover half of his face

"Inoue-san you must convince your sister to see me" Dr. Kurosaki informed the elder Inoue.

"You see Rangiku-san, one of Orihime-san's personalities have already surfaced. A young woman named 'Neliel'" Kisuke explained

"But she won't agree to it" Rangiku sighed in an exasperated tone, "I don't know what to tell her anymore"

Just then, Orihime began to stir. Dr. Kurosaki was the first to reach her bed. He stood beside her and checked on Orihime.

Slowly, a pair of gray orbs opened, looking blearily at the orange haired doctor. Once in focus, those eyes grew as big as saucers and she shot up, scooting away from Dr. Kurosaki. "Wh-where am I" she asked, panic written all over her face.

"Calm down Hime" Rangiku neared her sister and embraced her, "It's alright, you fainted. You're in the hospital" she rubbed Orihime's back

"Orihime-san" Kisuke sat on the bed, "This here is Dr. Kurosaki, I'll be handing you over to him. He'll be your new doctor" he motioned to the young man

Orihime turned her gaze to Ichigo and immediately blushed under his scrutinizing gaze. "B-But wh-what about you?" she asked nervously, still shaking from her shock

"Well Dr. Kurosaki is the expert in MP- I mean your case" Kisuke enlightened the young girl

Orihime glanced at Dr. Kurosaki and blushed again, "O-okay " she said still stealing glances at the young doctor.

"When you think you're ready and well rested, I'd like you to drop by my office" it wasn't a request, it was more of a command coming from Ichigo and Orihime could do nothing but nod her head.

. . .

That night, Orihime dropped all of the contents of her book bag on her bed. Rangiku was working late tonight, she's going to defend a rape victim and she badly wants to win this case.

Just as Orihime made sure her bag was empty, a shiny carving knife fell from the bag and hit the ground with a dull clank. It was the missing carving knife, Tatsuki had mentioned a week earlier.

Orihime backed away. "No! No! No!" She sank to her knees and buried her face into her hands, "No! I promised Onii-chan I wouldn't play with knives" she sobbed in the voice of a child

A jeering voice crashed through her mind. _Oh __shut __up._It spat. _Can__'__t __you __take __the __hint? G__o __on __and __stick __it __in __your __throat._

. . .

Tatsuki didn't like the cafeteria but when you have a schedule as tight as hers, you've got no choice but to pick something out from the cafeteria unless you want to starve. She hated it not because of the food, the food was alright but she hated the people who stayed in the cafeteria to gossip.

"Anyway, I was in a bar last night and I saw Sexy Kaien there with an equally sexy friend of his" she hear a girl say

"_Sexy eh?" Tatsuki thought, "that's what they call Shiba-sensei"_

"Sexy?" Another girl repeated, "I don't think Shiba-sensei is sexy. He's just a really nice guy and a good teacher" she added

"Well a lot girls in this campus think Shiba-sensei is hot. A lot of students and teachers" she smirked. "But you know last night I heard Shiba-sensei telling his oh so hot friend about Inoue Orihime'"

"Inoue Orihime?"

"Yeah you know the weird girl. Auburn hair, gray eyes, big boobs" the girl described Orihime in a tone Tatsuki did not like.

"Oh that girl. You think they have something going on?"

"You bet they do!" the girl exclaimed, "He was so enthusiastic telling his friend all about Inoue Orihime. I even heard them talking about letters. I think they've been sending each other letters for the past months"

"I knew they had something" the other girl concluded

"Remember when he raced down the aisle when Inoue dropped to the ground. I already felt there was something between the two"

"I knew that Inoue was a slut. Seducing Shiba-sensei like that"

By this time Tatsuki could no longer bear it. She wanted to beat the crap out of those girls but she knew that Orihime would not like it if Orihime found out that she got into a fight. No, Tatsuki had to be there for Orihime, especially since her best friends was going through something right now.

. . .

Orihime was on her way to Mr. Shiba's office. _"__What __did __I __do __again?__" _she thought

It was yesterday when she got a phone call from Mr. Shiba, asking her to drop by his office today.

She was wearing a cream dress today with long sleeves, with a pair of black leggings underneath. She had an ash gray wool coat over her dress and a charcoal gray scarf to cover her neck to protect her neck from the cold.

She entered the warm confines of Mr. Shiba's office and was greeted with the smell of coffee.

"Hi Orihime" he sounded nervous.

"Good afternoon" Orihime gave him a smile.

He motioned for her to sit on the couch with him and asked if she wanted anything to drink.

"Tea would be fine" she said quietly

Mr. Shiba came back a few moments later with Orihime's tea in one hand and his coffee on the other. He sat beside her and watched as she drank gingerly.

"Shiba-sensei" she began, "What was it you wanted to talk about?" she asked

Kaien didn't really know why he called her over. Was he supposed to tell her that he knew she was Miyako? He wasn't sure. Should he break it to her and tell her he loves her too? He wasn't sure either.

"Did I pass two term papers this time?" she asked, a giggle erupting from her throat; a sound that made Kaien's heart pound painfully in his chest.

"Orihime" he said softly

"Yes?"

He stood up and got something from his bag. He handed a bunch of letters to her and asked "Do you recognize these?"

Orihime stared at them and shook her head.

"How about the penmanship?"

Orihime stared at the letters again. Wait. Something was terribly wrong. This was her stationary but not her penmanship and that kind of paper was from her diary, a custom made diary that Rangiku gave her when she turned eighteen. That explains the pages that were mysteriously torn from her diary. Who on earth could have ripped pages from her diary and use them to write to a professor?

Judging from the reaction on her face, Kaien knew she recognized them. But why did she look so confused, so horrified.

"Shiba-sensei I-"

"I love them" he interrupted

Orihime stared at Kaien. He had a small smile on his face and with a tinge of red tainting his cheeks and she wondered if he wasn't feeling well today.

"I love the poems you write for me. I always knew you were a poet and you always did have a talent in writing" he told her

"You've mistook me for someone else Shiba-sensei" Orihime cut him off, "I did not write this. I am not Miyako" she said

"But that's your penmanship and you're the only person who knows I like Shakespeare's works"

"No it's not my penmanship, close to mine but still not mine. I did not write these" she almost shouted, her head was pounding now. There was someone screaming in her head. She felt faint. "Please Shiba-sensei" she tried standing up, "You've got it all wrong! I don't even know who Miyako is!"

It hurt Kaien to hear Orihime deny this. It hurt even more that she was starting to get angry and was raising her voice at him.

She was about to leave the room when Kaien grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. He buried his face her hair. "Please Orihime" he said in a pained voice, "I love you"

"_Who do you belong to Shirou?" _

_Blue_

_Silver _

_Brown_

Kaien felt Orihime stiffen as a whimper escaped her lips. "Orihime?" he asked turning her around. She was shaking, cold sweat covering her forehead. She was pale, as white as paper, and she stared at him as though she was seeing someone else, someone that frightened her more than anything in the world.

Kaien embraced her once more, hoping that his body heat could warm her cold figure but her breathing became worse."Help me" she managed to say before falling limp against him

"Orihime?" Kaien shook her lightly. "Orihime?" he tried again but Orihime was out cold. He picked her up and ran out of the office.

"Somebody call an ambulance!" he shouted

. . .

"She went into shock" the doctor told the worried professor. "When she wakes, you can take her home" he said before exiting the room.

"Thank you doctor" Kaien sighed. He then glanced back at the auburn haired beauty, sleeping peacefully. '_I __shouldn__'__t __have __taken __her __by __surprise__" _he thought as he watched her breath deeply. He moved close to her and brushed a stray strand from her angelic face.

Immediately, Kaien dialed Rangiku's number, might as well as tell the prosecutor her sister's here. It was a good thing that Rangiku had asked him to look out after her sister while in the University and had given him her number in case anything happened. Well how was he going to explain that he had caused her to faint?

. . .

Rangiku didn't know what to do anymore. She was still trying to cope with the loss of her brother, her sister had something called Multiple Personality Disorder and had been rushed to the hospital for the second time. Worst of all, she was losing her case in court and she was not about to let some rapist get away with the horrible things he's done to an innocent girl.

"Something wrong?" a hand landed on her shoulder as the man sat beside her

"My sister was rushed to the hospital" she answered tiredly

"Orihime-chan?" Gin asked

"Yeah" Rangiku sighed, "She's going through so much and I don't even know how to help her"

"Why don't ya stay with her then?"

"Her best friend's with her besides I need time to think"

Gin scooted closer to the strawberry blonde and grasped her hand in his. She gave him a weak smile and squeezed his hand a little. "Orihime's our miracle" she began, "Our parents never wanted her, they didn't even want to name her. It was Sora nii-chan who gave her the name Orihime"

"He did a good job naming her, it suits your sister" Gin said softly

"Mother never liked Orihime. It was because she looked so much like our father. She looked so much like 'the devil' she would say. But I've always thought Orihime was an angel and that she was far from out bastard father" Rangiku recalled those times when their mother would hit Orihime for no apparent reason. "But just because Orihime looked a lot like our father didn't mean he liked her, in fact he hated her too. So I promised myself that I'd take care of Orihime because our parents didn't give a damn about her"

The two remained silent for a moment before Gin cleared his throat and said "So who'd ya look like? I bet it was your mother"

"Nah" Rangiku shook her head, "I was a mix of the two. I had Dad's eyes and nose the rest are from mother"

"They made a beautiful combination" he smiled at her.

Rangiku's couldn't resist the blush that dusted her cheeks. She wasn't a teenager anymore for goodness's sake. She was a grown woman and should not even be blushing. But when Gin smiled, a smile so gentle and different from his usual grin, Rangiku just could not help but blush.

"Did they hurt ya too?"

Rangiku looked into Gin's eyes, they were open and she marveled at the color of his eyes, "_Like the color of water" _she thought. "No" she finally answered, "Well when I was younger sure they'd hit me a few times but when I grew older I learned to fight back and they never touched me again" she said proudly

"You're a strong woman" Gin's grin crept back again

"Sure am" Rangiku smirked, "I can kick your ass anytime"

"Yikes. I should be careful not to make ya mad then" he chuckled

"Yeah" she laughed, "wouldn't wanna ruin that fine ass"

He grinned slyly at her and said "I knew you were ogling. Can't blame you though, I do have a fine ass"

. . .

Kaien was so downcast today. He'd just given the confession of his life and they ended up in the emergency room. "But I can't give up on her" he sighed as he sank into the sofa.

He always knew there was something special about Inoue Orihime. The first time she stepped into his class, he already had the impression that she was a good student. And he was right. She was quiet and attentive in class, though she would day dream occasionally. But she wrote wonderful book reports, play reviews and term papers. Her works were always well thought over, honest yet factual and thought provoking. She was one of his best students.

She was always reserved in class and when he would ask questions he knew that she knew the answers because her eyes would light up as if to say 'I know!' but then her face would fall into a hesitant expression and she would avert her attention back to her book.

Most of her classmates didn't like her. That's what Kaien observed. They'd call her a weirdo but Orihime never seemed to mind. Sometimes when he dropped by the cafeteria, he'd spot Orihime, conversing animatedly with her few friends. It was easy to spot Orihime in a sea of people, she was the only one with bright auburn hair like that.

One time, he caught her staring out the window during class and as though feeling his gaze on her, she stared back at him and smiled.

There always was something so captivating about her eyes. Was it because they had such a peculiar color? Or was it because you could read every emotion she was feeling through them? Maybe both.

He sighed again and buried his face in his hands. He was a professor for crying out loud! He shouldn't be falling in love with his students much less confessing his love to them. It was against their protocol.

He sighed one last time before tossing his can of beer in the trash bin and heading for his room. He needed to sleep this off because he had a lot of explaining to do tomorrow.

Sleep took over Kaien immediately, in fact, a few minutes after settling on the bed, he was already fast asleep. So deep in his sleep that he failed to notice that slipped in through his window and stood by his side. He didn't notice the shiny thing that it held up, nor did he notice the wicked smile that was plastered on that person's face.

. . .

She had the knife dream again. But this time the knife wasn't coming at Orihime, she was holding it. Orihime bolted upright in bed, clamping a hand on her mouth. She wanted to scream and cry. Her hand felt sticky. Why? She looked down at her hand and saw blood. Her left hand was clutching something hard, she gave it a quick squeeze and a rush of pain shot up her hand. Warm blood came gushing out of the wound.

She jumped off of her bed and screamed. Blood covered her body, her hand, even the sheets. She glanced down at the knife she was holding and immediately let go of it. She clenched her hand in a tight ball, hoping the pressure would stop the bleeding. How long has she been bleeding that she got so much blood on her clothes and on her bed?

_Don__'__t __waste __a __minute._A voice shouted. _Wash __yourself, __wash __the __knife, h__ide __it __in __the __closet._

Blindly, Orihime followed. She ran to her bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. She wanted to shriek and a picture of a small auburn haired girl in a white dress that had blotches of blood on her dress came to mind. She was still wearing her jeans from yesterday. _Why?_ She wondered. Immediately, she washed the knife and her cut. She then stripped and stepped into the shower. Frantically, she rubbed the blood from her skin. She hated blood and she scrubbed so hard her skin turned red.

Finally, she stepped out and pulled a robe on. She stripped the sheets off her bed and threw them in her laundry bin. She grabbed the knife and hid it in her closet

_Good. Now get dressed. You have to be in your first class and stay calm. You're really in a mess this time. You're phone's ringing. Don't answer it. It's probably Rangiku._

On her way to her class, the students kept on giving her dirty looks, muttering 'slut' and 'weirdo' as they glared at her. She wondered why they were staring at her but most of all she wondered why she kept on hearing the muffled cries of a little girl. Again, the picture of a little girl with long auburn hair crying in a cold room flashed. Yes, that was her but where was that room and why was she crying?

She rushed into her class and her classmates where gathered at the center of the room. Some where crying while most of them had shocked looks on their faces. She stopped at the doorway and was about to ask what was happening when a girl stood up and narrowed her eyes.

"Don't bother coming to class" she spat at Orihime, "Shiba-sensei's dead anyway"

**Author's Note:**

**I'm truly sorry for not updating this fic. I actually thought no one wanted to read it anymore and was thinking of leaving it as it is. But I can't not finish this right? So I'll be updating this fic more often too.**

**Don't forget to leave me a review ^-^**

**Till next time :D**

**~Ember~**


	6. Dear Readers

Hello dear readers :D

Ember here though I'd prefer it if you called me Ashe by now. I've got good news for all of you. . .I will finally be updating ALL my stories again :D

I'd like to first and foremost apologize for being gone for so long. I didn't intend to do so . . .it's just that things have become so difficult in the past years that I just could not find the time to write again. And yet, despite being the incompetent writer that I am, a lot of you continued to read my stories, put me and my stories on your alerts and favourites. I can't thank you enough for that. I'd like to thank those who PMed me and expressed how much they wish for me to continue my stories. You guys have reminded how much I love writing, the joy of watching a persistent plot bunny grow into a full blown multichaptered story, and the wonderful feeling of sharing these stories with you guys. Thank you all so very much.

Now, why have I been gone for so long? Well, remember in some of my stories, I have mentioned that I have a sort of heart disease. . .it's actually rheumatic heart disease. Now the disease was not harmful at first and I didn't think much of it because I honestly thought it wasn't anything serious. But as time passed, I began neglecting my RHD, I skipped my antibiotics and at a certain point stopped taking them completely (I know that was stupid). I didn't know that that was the worst thing I could possibly do. I started having fevers more often and was having palpitations, chest pains and difficulty breathing almost everyday. But still, I refused to take my meds or return to my cardiologist. After being rushed to the ER countless of times, I finally went back to my cardiologist. And after more tests and check ups, it became official. My RHD had progressed to heart failure. I had an operation to repair the damaged valve after that. I focused on recovering, regaining my strength and making up for all the school work that I missed and with that failed to update my stories.

Another reason as to why I've been gone for so long was because I'm now a college student. And we all know that college is . . .well stressful and hectic. But now that I've adjusted and now capable of balancing studies, health and performing, I WILL NOW BE CONTINUING ALL MY STORIES AND WILL BE WRITING MORE ICHIHIME FICS!

I can't apologized enoug for keeping you guys waiting too long. The past 2 years was just really difficult. . .even now I still suffer from constant attacks. But I will not let that hinder me from writing again. This is my passion. Writing is part of who I am and I just cannot live with the thought that I still have unfinished stories.

So guys, get ready for the new and improved Ashe Flight!


End file.
